Duplex tractor



Nov.'23 1925.

J. F. M. PATITZ DUPLEX TRACTOR Original Filed Nov. :5, 1920 PatentedNov. 23, 1926.

the tractor power unit.

' of which are enclosed and UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JQHANN FRIEDRICH MAX PATITZ, or MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, AssIGNon TO ALLIS-GHALMERS MANUFACTURING COMPANY, or

PORATION OF WISCONSIN.

mnwauxnn, Wisconsin, A con- DUPLEX TRACTOR. 4

Original application filed November 3, 18-20, Seri a,1 No. 421,431.Divided and this application filed Decembet 6, 1920, Serial No."428,433. Renewed September 10, 1923.

This invention relates in general to immore specifically to improvementsin the construction and operation of farm tractors of' the two-wheeltype, and to means for uniting or combining several such tractors sothat they may be operated as a single unit.

An object of the invention is to provide a tractor which is simple inconstruction and eflicient. in operation. Another object of theinvention is to provide an improved method of operating and ofmanipulating tractors.

Some of the more specific objects of. the present invention are asfollows:

To provide means for permitting an element associated with the reach ofa two-wheel tractor to vary its position in accordance with unevennessof the ground surface without affecting the position of To provide atractor which' is simple, durable and me chanical in construction andwhich may be manufactured at minimum cost. To provide a compact tractor,various elements protected, the enclosed elements being readilyaccessible for inspection, adjustment and removal. To provide simple andeflicient means for permitting utilization of the motor of one or moretractors to drive stationary machinery. To provide means whereby severalfarm tractors of the two-wheel type may be associated with each othertoproduce a vehicle having a four-wheel drive. To provide simple andeflicient means manipulable from a central point, for controllingthepropelling motors of several indepenednt tractors. To provide connectingmeans for uniting several tractorswhereby their combined power may beutilized to pull trailing implements. To provide a connection betweenseveral trac- Y tors whereby which will permit variations in; theposition of one tractor in accordance with unevenness of the groundsurface, without affecting the position-of an associated tractor. Toprothey will, operate in unison but may, be operated asa unitindependently of the others to perform certain classes of work, andwhereby'the tractors may becombined to form a single unit for performingother classes of work. .To provide other improved details of tractorconstruction which will reduce to a minimum the cost of manufacture andwhich will increase to a maximum the efficiency of operation.

This application is a division of application for patent, Serial No.121,431 filed No-- ve-mber 3, 1920.

the subject of LettersPatent No. 1,419,113, granted June 6, 1922.

A clear conception of an embodiment of the invention and of the mannerof manipulating tractors constructed in, accordance of a duplex farm ofpart of the manipulating and controlling l6 mechanism of a duplextractor.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal vertical section throughthe horizontal swivel connection between 'theseveral tractorsonstituting'a duplex tractor.

Each of the individual tractor units 2' comprising the duplex tractordisclosed in the drawings, consists generally of a motor 3, transmissionmechanism located at one end of the motor and enclosed within a housing,or casing 9, supporting and propelling' wheels 5 located on oppositesides of the motor 3, gearing operatively connecting the transmissionmechanism with the propolling wheels, and a laterally 'swingable elementor yoke 12 vertically pivotally connected with the frame of the powerunit and constituting part of the means 'for attaching the unit-s toeach other.

The motors 3 are illustrated as being of 96 the vertical internalcombustion type but Some of the other novel 00' features herein shownand described, form may be of any other desired type. Each ofv themotors 31s provided with a lower crank casing 8 rigidly attached to. oneend of an intermediate frame 7 the opposite end of whichis rigidlyattached to a transmission housing 9. The transmission housing 9 isprovided with a detachable casing portion or cap 10 the end ofowhich' isprovlded with a removable cover 25. The motor crank casing 8, theintermediate frame 7, the transmission housing 9, and the cap 10 formthe frame structure of each power unit 2. The lower portion of theintermediate frame .7

is provided with a pair of laterally projecting stub axles which formsupports for the wheels 5, while the'upper' portion of this intermediateframe 7 is provided with a fuel supply tank 11 formed in one with theintermediate frame 7 and having laterally extending parallel verticallyspaced lugs to which the oke element 12is pivotally connected. therelative locationsof the motor and trans T e construction of eachunit'and mission elements thereof is such that the weight of the motorand of the associated parts on one side of the vertical plane of theaxles, substantially balances the weight of the transmission housing, ofthe transmission mechanism and ofthe elements associated therewith onthe other side of this plane. Each of the iinits2 may be provided withasuitable draw bar 16 attached to the cap 10 and to the intermediateframe 7 thereof, as for alternate right and left plows.

The pivotal centers of the laterally swingable, elements or yokes 12 arepreferably 10- cated out of the vertical plane of the wheel axes of theunits. The swingable elements I 12 are preferably formed bifurcated andstrength and length of bearing;

cas1ng15 rigidly attached to the end of the beam member 14, and as shownin Fig. 3, a swivel sleeve 75 clamped within the hub of and therebyrigidly attached to the other yoke '12 and located withint-he casing 15.

' This horizontal pivotal connection between the yokes 12 permits aswiveling motion of one of the units relative to the other about.

the longitudinal axis of the connecting member. The tubular connectingbeam member 14 besides serving as a connection between the severaltractor units, serves as a support for the operatoris. platform 13 andfor the controlhng and manipulating elements of the units, and as ahousing for part of the control connections. The yoke 12 of each of thepower units 2 is normally prevented from swinging about its verticalpivot by ,means of a segment rack 21 secured to the transmission housing9, and a coacting spur pinion 20 associated and swingable with the yoke12. The pinion 20 is secured to the lower end of a vertical shaftcarried by the yoke, to the upper 7 end of which a worm wheel 19 issecured, A steering worm coactingwith the worm wheel 19 serves as a lockfor normally preventing rotation of the pinion 20 relative to its rack21. ,Aqsteerins rod.18 mounted upon the tubular connecting member 14coacts with one of the steering worms,- and has a steering hand wheel 17associate'd'th'erewith in, proximity to the operators platform '13.

The yoke 12 of the unit 2 having its pinion 20 thus associated withasteering hand wheel. 17, may be swung about its vertical pivot bymanipulation of the hand wheel 17. In'each of thepowen units 2, thedriving motor 3 has itsmain crank shaft connected to one element of amain clutch-48, another element of which clutch is associated with 'anend of a horizontal main transmission shaft 49, see Fig. 2. The maintransmission shaft 49 extends longitudinally of the tractor and ismounted insuitable bearings within the transmission housing 9. and "cap'10. Anaxially movable transmission gear 55 is spli'ned upon the shaft49, this gear .55 being slidable. along the shaft 49 by means 1 of a rod47. During forward propulsion of either of the units 2, the gear 5meshes with a gear 56 -mounted upon a countershaft 50 located above andextending parallel to the main transmission shaft 49, asins shown to theright in Fig. 2. During reverse propulsion of either of the units .2,the gear 55 meshes with an idler" gear 53 which in turnmeshes with agear 54 secured to the counter-shaft 50, as illustratediio tothe left inFig. 2. The spacing of the gears 53, 54,56 longitudinally 'of a unit 2,1s such that the shiftable gear 55 -upon being moved from one extreme.posit on to the oth'er,first passes through a neutral position whereinit does not mesh with either of the gears 53,56. The transmission gears53, 54, 55, 56 areall mounted within the transmission casing 9 and cap10, andthe end of the main transmission shaft 49 is preferably extendedto within the removable cover 25 in order either to permit attachment ofa driving pulley 58 and utilization of the motor3 todrive-machineryother than the unit itself,,or to permitutilization of thefmotors of"both units to drive a singlemachine. or

element other than the traction wheels 5.

The inner end of each counter-shaft 50 is provided with a pinion whichmeshes with the driving gear of a diflei'ential 52 associated with thehalf-shafts 57, 571. The

' outer end of each of the half-shafts 57, 571,

is provided with a driving pinion 4 which meshes with an internal gear 6secured to the adjacent drive wheel 5. The casing of the differential 52is provided with a band- I brake 51 which is preferably operablesimultaneously with, but reversely of the main clutch 48 by means of ahorizontally Inov able connection 44 and a connecting lever 46. Thelever 46 has a medial stationary pivot and has its lower extremityassociated with the movable member of the main clutch 48. The connection44 is mounted in horiity of which is secured ahorizontally swingablerocker arm 38. The arms 42, 38 extend in the same general direction withreference to the rock shaft 40. The outer end 9f the upper rocker arm 38is connected tothe upper extremity of the lever 34 by means of agenerally horizontally movable connecting rod 36. The lower extremity ofthe lever 34 of one (the left as shown in Fig.

2) of ,the power units2 is connected to the clutch and brake actuatinglever 24 at a point above the horizontal pivot 28 thereof by means ofthe connecting rod 32. The lower extremity of the lever 34 of the other(the right as shown in Fig; 2) power unit 2 is connected to theactuating lever 24 at a point below the horizontal pivot 28 thereof bymeans of a connecting rod 30. These connecting rods.30, 32 are locatedwithin the tubular member 14 and the swivel, casing 15, and in closeproximity to the axis of the horizontal pivotal connection afforded bythe sleeve 75. With this combination-of clutch and brake operating leverand con-' necting rods, movement of the lever 24 to the right, from theneutral or central position,, will throw the clutches 48 of both powerunits 2 out of engagement and the band-brakes 51 into action. Movementof the lever 24 tothe left will throw the clutches p 48 into and theband-brakes 51 out of action.

The shiftable gear 55 of each propelling unit is movable along thecorresponding main transmission shaft 49 by means of the horizontal rod47 havingan end, thereof connected ,to the lower: extremity. of thelever 45. The. medial portion of this lever 45 has a stationary fulcrumwhile the upper extremity thereof is connected tothe end of ahorizontally swingable rocker arm 41 by means of a horizontally movable'connecting rod 43. The rocker arm 41 is secured to the lower extremityof a vertical rock shaft 39 to the upper extremity of which is secured ahorizontally swingablerocker arm 37. The arms 37;' 4Iextend'away fromthe rock shaft 39 in the same general direction, the rock shaft 39 beingparallel to 'the rock shaft 40. The outer extremity of the upper rockerarm 37 is connected to the upper extremity of the lever 33 by means of asubstantially horizontally movable connecting rod 35. The lever 33 ofone (the left as shown in Fig.2) of the power-units 2 has its lowerextremity connected by means of a connecting rod 31, to a gear shiftactuating lever 22 having a laterally extnding transverse pin 27 rigidlyassociated therewith. The lower extremity of'the lever 33 of theother(the right as shown in Fig. 2) power unit 2 is connected by means of aconnecting rod 29, to the gear shift lever 23 having a lost motionsegment 26 associated therewith. The segment 26 has end projections orabutinents spaced and straddling pin 27 so that with both of the levers22, 23 in neutral position, either of the levers may be moved'to one orthe other of its extreme positions without affecting the position. ofthe other. lever. These projections howeverprevent simultaneous shiftingof the gears of both power units 2 in the opposite sense, as will belater explained. The connections 29, 31 are also located within thetubfiilar member 14 and the swivel casing 15, and in close proximity tothe axis of the horizontal pivotal connection afforded"by the sleeve 75,while" the common pivot 28 of the levers 22, 23, 24 is mounted in thesides of the tubular member 14.

In order to permit utilization of the motor 3 of either of the power:units to drive a stationary machine of any kind, the rear cap 25 of theunit may be removed so as to expose the extremity of the. main transmission shaft 49. A driving pulley 58 maysuch utilization of the motivepower, the y shiftable gear 55 of its corresponding power unit should bethrown into neutral position.

During normal forward propulsion of the duplex tractor formed by unitingthe .two power units 2, the motors 3 are operating to drive theirrespective crank shafts which are acting to drive the main transmissionshafts 49 through the clutches 48 The shiftable gear 55 of the rearpower unit '2 is positioned as shown at the left in Fig. 2'and iseo-operating with the reversing (referred to that power unit) gears 53,54 and through the differential 52, half shafts 57 571, and pinions 4 todrive the wheels of this tractor in a clock-wise direction as viewed inFig. 1. The shiftable gear 55 of the forward propelling unit 2 is inmesh'with the forward driving gear 56 ofthis tractor as shown to theright pf Fig. 2 and is acting through the differential 52, half shafts57. 571, and

- pinions 4, to drive the wheels of this tractor also in a clock-wisedirection as viewed in Fig. 1. During such normal forward propulsiQn,gear shift levers 22, 23 of both trac tors have been thrown to the rightfrom neutral position as shown in Fig. 2 and the clutch operating lever24 has been thrown to the right and has been permittedto return toneutral position.

For reverse propulsion of the duplex tractor, the levers 22, 23 are boththrown in'the reverse directions or to the left from neutral and fromthe position illustrated in Fig. 2. The clutch operating lever 24however remains as shown after having been brought to neutral or frombraking position. With the levers 22, 23 thrown into reverse position,the shiftable gear of the forward power unit 2,is co-operating with thereversing gear 53 of that unit, and the shiftable gear 55 ot the rearpower unit 2 is in mesh with the forward referred to. that power unit)driving gear 56. The gear shift levers 22,.23 of the respective powerunits must be thrown individually to either extreme position, If one ofthese levers 22, 23 is in right or left position, the other may readilybe thrown into the same position. If, however, one of these levers 22,23 isin right or left position and it is attempted to throw the otherlever into the opposite position, the shifted lever will beautomatically brought to mid position before the gears manipulated bythe other lever can be shifted. This result is brought about by theprojections on the segment 26 co-operating with the transverse pin 27 ofthe lever 22.

The duplex tractor may be readily'conof the forward power unit on thebeam member may only be effected by manipula- -tion of the steeringwheel 17 unless the worms are 14, specifically shown in Fig. 3. Thishorizontal pivotal connection is of suflicient strength to permittransmission of the entire draft of either of the units 2 therethrough.During the relative lateral tilting of the "units 2, the manipulatingrods 29, 30, 31, 32, passing throu h and iii close proximity to the axisof the .horizontal pivotal connection, are subjected to a slighttwisting action which is however accommodated by "the looseness in thejoints between theaends of thehrods and the elements associated therewitIt will be noted that the construction of the tractor units issubstantially the same and that by removing'the tubular beam member 14,the swivel casing 15 and swivel sleeve 7 5, both of the units may besupplied with beam members and supporting means therefor and controllingdevices such as are disclosed in Letters Patent No. 1,419,113, grantedJune 6, 1922, thereby permitting utilization of the units as independenttractors. The individual units may thus be utilized for the performanceof relatively light work such as cultivating etc., whereas by combiningthe two unitsinto a duplex tractor, it is possible to perform morestrenuous work such as heavy plowing. By so combining the tractors intoa, duplex tractor, it has beenfound that the resulting four-Wheel drivemachine will readily pull three plows under conditions where theindividual tractors are able to pull only one plow each. In case one ofthe differentially connected wheels of one of the units slips in softround for instance, the machine will nevert eless be able to proceedbecause thetractive effort will continue in the remaining unit.

It should be understood that it is not desired to limit the invention tothe exact details of construction herein shown and described for variousmodifications'within the scope of he appended claims may occurto personsskilled in the art. g

It is claimed and desired to secure by Let ters Patent:

1. A duplex tractor comprisin two units each having a driving motor, acam member supported by and connecting said units, and means common toboth of said motors for controlling the same, said means being mountedupon said beam member between said motors. 4

2. A duplex tractor comprising two units each having a driving motor, abeam member connecting said units, means common to both of said motorsfor controlling the same, said means being mounted upon said beammember, and connection between said units including a vertical pivot.

3. A duplex tractor comprising two units each having a driving motor, abeam member connecting said units, means common to tors, said meansbeing mounted upon said beam member, and a connection between said unitsincluding a horizontal pivot.

4. A duplex tractor comprising two units each-having a driving motor, abeam member connecting said units, means common to both of said unitsfor controlling said motors, said means being mounted upon sai beammember, and a vertical pivotal connection between each of said units andsaid beam member.

5. A duplex tractor comprising two units each having a driving motor, abeam member connecting said units, means common to both of said unitsfor controlling said motors, said means being mounted upon said beammember, a connection between said units including .a vertical-pivot, anda connection between said units including a horizontal pivot. v

6. A duplex tractor comprising two units each having afldriving motor, atubular beam member connecting said units, means common to both of saidunits for controlling said motors, said means being mounted upon saidbeam member, and connections between said means and said motors locatedwithin said beam member.

7. A duplextractor comprising two units each having a driving motor, ayoke ele ment vertically pivotally connected to each of said units, anda beam member connecting said yoke elements and supported entirely bysaid units. a

8. A duplex tractor comprising two units each having .a driving motor, ayoke element vertically pivotally connected to each of said units, abeam member connecting said yoke elements, and a horizontal pivotalconnection between said beam member and at least one of said yokeelements.

9. A duplex tractor comprising two units each having a driving motor, ayoke element vertically pivotally connected-to each of said units, abeam member connecting said yoke elements, and a horizontal pivotalconnection between said units located in axial alinement with said beammember.

10. A duplex tractor comprising two power units each having a pair ofwheels 10- catedon opposite sides o the unit and a motor having itscenter of gravity located to one side of the vertical plane of the axisof said wheels, a yoke element vertically pivotally connected to each ofsaid units, the connection of each of said yoke elements to'its unitbeing on theopposit e side of said controlling said motors, said meansbeing vertical plane of said unit, and a beam member connecting saidyoke elements.

11. A duplex tractor comprising two units each having-a driving motor, atubular beam member connecting said units,. means for and saidbeam-member, and a horizontal pivotal connection between one of saidunits and said beam member.

, 13. A duplex tractor comprising two units each having a driving motor,a beam member connecting said units, a horizontal pivotal connectionbetween said beam member and one of said units, and steering meansassociated with the other of said units and mounted upon said beammember.

14. A duplex tractor comprising two units each having a driving motor, ayoke element vertically pivotally connected to eachof said units, a beammember rigidlysecured to one of said yoke elements and horizontallypivotally connected to the other of said yoke elements, and steeringmeans for producing relative motion between said rigidly connected yokeelement and its unit about its vertical pivotal connection,

15. A tractor having four traction wheels and two motors arranged tooperate all four of said wheels simultaneously, said tractor beingreadily separable into two smaller tractors or sections each with twotraction wheels and one of the motors, and an attachment for eachtractor section to keep it in horizontalv position when detached fromthe.

traction wheels and one of said motors, and

anattachment for each section to keep the same from tilting fore and aftwhen detached from the other section of the tractor.

Ill)

17. A'duplex tractor comprising two units,

each having a driving motor and forward and reversing transmissiongearing associated with said. motor, independently operable means forcontrolling the setting of said forward and 'reversing transmissiongearing on each of said units, and means associated with .one of saidsettin means for positively preventin setting 0 said other setting meansto pro uce opposite driving of said units.

18. A duplex tractor comprising twounits,

each having a driving motor and forward and reversing transmissiongearingassociated with said motor, a manually operable lever forcontrolling said forward and reversing transmission gearing of one ofsaid units,- a manually operable lever for cont 19. A duplex tractorcomprising two units inventor is a each having a complete power plant, abeam member connecting said units, and means common to both of saidmotors for cong the same, said means being mounted said beam membert Intestimon whereof, the signature of the xed hereto. JOHANN FRIEDRICH MAXPATITZ.

